Methods of proximity effect reduction have been introduced which are comprised of additional lines, sometimes referred to as intensity leveling bars, into a mask pattern. This is disclosed by J. F. Chen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,770, and its entire disclosure is incorporated by reference in this application. These leveling bars perform the function of matching edge intensity gradients of isolated features on the mask to more dense features on the mask, as shown in FIG. 1. In this figure, lines 30-34 are all designed to the same dimension and spacing. The patterning is such that line 32 experiences three separate proximity situations, one that is closely packed to lines 30, 31, 33, and 34, one that is isolated, and one that is surrounded by intensity leveling bars, 36. In the preferred embodiment of U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,770, the width of the leveling bars, 36, is equal to one fifth of the critical dimension for the line and the separation of leveling bar 36 from the line 32, as defined by the edge to edge distance (such as the separation distance 14 shown in FIG. 2) to be 1.1 times the critical dimension of the line 32. This distance is preferred for a dark line in a clear field. A distance equal to the critical dimension is preferred for a clear line in a dark field.